Sully and Natalie at the pumpkin patch near Prescott

Arizona with a side trip to Mexico

November 12, 2015 by Nate |

After our time in California, we pointed Astraea Mobile back east to Arizona. We headed to Natalie’s Dad’s house to visit and prepare for our return to Astraea.

It was great to get to spread out in a house after being on the road for over a month. I took the time to test out our solar equipment for the boat.

The test setup of two 100 watt solar panels and the charge controller charging the camper’s battery

Sully liked staying at his Grandma and Grandpa’s house because he could jump on the couch, build forts and ride his scooter inside. We visited the community pool and took walks around the neighborhood in the afternoon when it cooled down.

Natalie and I took a long weekend trip to Guaymas in the camper to check on Astraea, install solar, and get a head start on recommissioning before we returned with Sully. The drive down in Mexico was easy, mainly on two lane highway. We stopped at kilometer 21 in Mexico, the end of the free zone to get tourist passports and check if we needed a temporary import permit (TIP) for the camper. The state of Sonora is a TIP free zone so there was less paperwork and our 5 day tourist visas were free. The driving was easy until we made it to Guaymas and found that the town was undergoing a revitalization, and that many of the roads were torn up and traffic was rerouted.

Buen Viaje road sign means “Have a good trip”

The two lane highway with a sign for topes, or bumps

Guaymas under construction

We found Astraea as we left her, except the tarp that covered the cockpit area was torn to pieces. We met with Jesus and Gabriel in the office and finalized our arrangements for Francisco to sand and paint the bottom. We brought 3 gallons of Nautical Ablative Antifouling Paint for two coats on the bottom and extra coats along the waterline.

While we were in Guaymas a wicked storm rolled in over the mountains with torrential rain and thunder. Water rolled through the boatyard and we were happy to have Astraea Mobile there for a nice dry place.

Before we knew it we were done prepping the boat and it was time to drive back north. Back at Natalie’s Dad’s house Sully was on his best behavior. He had fun with Grandma and Grandpa playing at the house and going to the park and pool.

We took some afternoon hikes. Our first big hike was to see the Aspens near Flagstaff.